


shelter

by iwanttoseethestars



Series: AI AMONG US [1]
Category: Among Us (Video Game), Half-Life VR but the AI is Self-Aware - Fandom
Genre: (you’ll see what i mean), Attempt at Humor, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Canon-Typical Violence, Constrained Writing, Crack Treated Seriously, Developing Relationship, Eventual Fluff, Experimental Style, Explicit Language, Gen, He/Him and They/Them Pronouns for Benrey (Half-Life), Humor, M/M, Other, Post-Canon, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:54:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27206215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwanttoseethestars/pseuds/iwanttoseethestars
Summary: after Black Mesa is reformed, the Science Team are assigned their next project... inspace!!
Relationships: Benrey & Gordon Freeman, Benrey/Gordon Freeman, Gordon Freeman & Everyone, Gordon Freeman & Joshua Freeman, Tommy Coolatta/Darnold, eventual hint of:, keep reading the series if you’d like to see:
Series: AI AMONG US [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1987711
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	shelter

**Author's Note:**

> LOCATION: SKELD_8_  
> COMMS: /N  
> DICK: OUT

*A BODY IS DISCOVERED!*

GORDON: Alright Benrey, that’s it! Comms are dead, all  _hope_ is dead, and… I saw you  kill!

BENREY:

BENREY: whaaaaat! bro, that’s a pretty... pretty uh, _heavy_ _accusation_ you’re making there—

GORDON:  _Are_ you—

BENREY: which room were you in? huh?  _huh_?

GORDON: Are you  _serious_!  _Electrical_ , you asshole!

BENREY: sounds like you were... about to steal.

*GORDON IS STUNNED INTO SILENCE.*

BENREY: yeah, uh,  _copper_.

TOMMY: That’s— That’s not a very nice thing to call someone! :(

*GORDON SLAMS A HAND AGAINST THE TABLE, CLEARLY FRUSTRATED.*

GORDON: Can anybody back me up here — properly! _Anybody_!

*THOUGH VISIBLY NERVOUS, TOMMY PERKS UP.*

TOMMY: If it’s any consolation, Mr Freeman, I was on the security cameras, a-and I saw Benrey exactly two metres from the scene of the crime, um...  thirty seconds before you reported it!

*A LITTLE LESS STRESSED, GORDON SIGHS.*

GORDON:  _Thank_ you, Tommy, that’s exactly— exactly what I wanted to hear…

*GORDON RECEIVES CONCERNED LOOKS FROM THE REST OF THE PARTY.*

DARNOLD: Gordon, this is my first time playing but, you have to know, what you just said sounded pretty suspicious.

TOMMY: “Playing”...?

DARNOLD: I meant “attending”. Apologies.

GORDON: Okay, so I’m gonna completely ignore the last ten seconds of this conversation—

BENREY: you’re wasting  _TIIIIIIIME_!!!

GORDON:  _Shit_ —!

DARNOLD: Ouch.

TOMMY: Owwww...

GORDON: Our  _ears_ , Benrey! _Our_ _ ears_!!

*THERE IS A MOMENTARY BREAK AS EVERYONE RECOVERS FROM THEIR TEMPORARY HEARING LOSS.*

GORDON: We’ve still got...

*GORDON CHECKS HIS WATCH.*

GORDON: A minute left before we need to get back to work. Darnold, where were you?

DARNOLD: Oh! Well, I was in the cafeteria, at the top.

GORDON: And you were doing...?

DARNOLD: I was getting soda.

*GORDON PAUSES.*

GORDON:  _Soda_...?  _Where_ did you find—

DARNOLD: Yes, for Tommy. I wouldn’t want him running out of Black Mesa’s top-tier Powerade™ — I patented it myself.

BENREY: that’s, that’s pretty cool, bro.

DARNOLD: Thank you. It  _was_ quite the uphill legal battle.

TOMMY: I  _hate_ the legal system!!

TOMMY: ... Well done, Darnold!

*GORDON ENTERS DENIAL, THE FIRST OF THE FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF. ADDITIONALLY,  The  **Nile** ([Arabic](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language):  النيل,  [romanized](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanization_of_Arabic): an-Nīl, Arabic pronunciation: [[an'niːl]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Arabic), Bohairic  [Coptic](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coptic_language):  ⲫⲓⲁⲣⲟ Pronounced [[pʰjaˈro]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA) [4],  [Nobiin](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobiin_language): Áman Dawū[5]) is a major north-flowing  [river](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/River) in northeastern  [Africa](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa),*

GORDON: Alright.

*GORDON’S JAW IS CLENCHED.*

GORDON: And I  _assume_ you were fetching his Black Mesa Official Silly Straw too, huh?

TOMMY: No, I’ve got my Silly Straw!

DARNOLD: Yeah. He brings it everywhere.

BENREY:  meh, _meh_ , _mehhhh_ — _idiot_.

DARNOLD: What Benrey said: there’s no need to be so paranoid, Gordon.

GORDON:  _I_ —

TOMMY:

DARNOLD:

BENREY:

GORDON: —Aaaaand we arrrrre  _voting for Benrey_!

*IH8TROOPS HAS VOTED. 3 REMAINING.*

BENREY: democracy... nice. hey, wait, nuhhh—

*OSHASODA HAS VOTED. 2 REMAINING.*

*DRPEPPER HAS VOTED. 1 REMAINING.*

BENREY: sucksssss!

DARNOLD: You need to vote, Benrey.

*BENREY LOOKS AT GORDON. GORDON’S FACE IS SMUG.*

*BENREYBENR HAS VOTED. 0 REMAINING.*

BENREY: i voted for  _youuuuuu_!

*THE RESULTS COME IN — UNANIMOUSLY DOOMING BENREY. WAIT,  WHAT? DID HE PRESS THE WRONG BUTTON? WHY WOULD YOU VOTE FOR YOURSELF...? DIDN’T BENREY KNOW THE OTHERS COULD’VE BEEN BLUFFING TO, I DON’T KNOW, LET GORDON DOWN EASY OR SOMETHING? AND HE  _WAS_ ACTING PRETTY SUS— 

*BENREY PULLS A FACE AS HE IS FORCIBLY SHOVED TOWARD THE AIRLOCK BY ALL THREE OF HIS CREWMATES. HE SIGHS, UNCROSSES HIS ARMS AND PRESSES THE BUTTON THAT OPENS THE DOOR FOR THEM.*

DARNOLD: All’s fair in  _Star and Wars_.

TOMMY: Sorry, Benrey!

GORDON:  _Jeez_ man you’re heavy.

*WITH ONE LAST PUSH, BENREY SHOOTS OUT INTO SPACE, AS DISPROPORTIONATELY FAST AS HE MIGHT WERE IT HIS IDEA ALL ALONG. GORDON THINKS HE WOULDN’T BE SURPRISED. BEFORE HE CAN RUMINATE MORE ABOUT IT, THOUGH, THE WHOLE CREW IS FORCED UP TO THE CLOSEST WINDOW, WATCHING BENREY FLOAT AWAY UNTIL HE’S OUT OF VIEW.*  


*OH, _GOD_ , THEY JUST KILLED BENREY. IN _SPACE_.*

GORDON:

GORDON: Look away a sec, guys: I think I’m gonna puke.

*THANKFULLY, THE HOLD UPON THE CREW IS LOOSENED. GORDON CAN FINALLY TURN AWAY FROM THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE DECISION HE WAS FORCED TO MAKE. HE SHOULDN’T FEEL GUILTY... RIGHT? BESIDES, BENREY  _HAD_ KILLED SOMEONE. GORDON IS SURE THE BOUNDS OF BLACK MESA HAVE NEVER SEEN CARNAGE LIKE IT.*

DARNOLD: Alright, as long as you don’t do it in the lab.

TOMMY: Or the cafeteria!

*GORDON’S PROBABLY GONNA HAVE TO LET TOMMY DOWN ON THIS ONE, BECAUSE HIS  DECISION HAS ALREADY FORCED HIS HEAD TOWARD THE FLOOR, WHERE HE SEES—*

GORDON: Oh, my  _God_!!

TOMMY: Holy  _shit_ , Mr Freeman!

DARNOLD: Oh dear.

TOMMY: Mr Freeman, that’s  _Among Us_ player SKELETON’s corpse!!

*GORDON BLANCHES.*

GORDON:  _Fuuuu_ —

*BUT HE MANAGES TO SWALLOW HIS, UH, HIS  _BARF_ , AS TO NOT DISRESPECT THE DEAD. AS NON-DISGUSTINGLY AS POSSIBLE, HE THEN WIPES AT HIS FACE.*

GORDON: Fuck  _me_. D’ he get dragged too?

DARNOLD: “Dragged”? I thought we all came here willingly.

GORDON:  _It’s_... Don’t worry about it, guys.

DARNOLD: Fine by me.

*THEY ALL (ASIDE FROM  _AMONG US_ PLAYER SKELETON) GO TO THE TABLE AT THE OPPOSITE END OF THE CAFETERIA (WHERE THERE LIES, INEXPLICABLY, A FULLY CHARGED LAPTOP) TO DRINK POWERADE™ AND THINK. IT’S A QUIETER MIRROR OF  THAT ONE TIME IN CHUCK E. CHEESE. AND IT SEEMS GORDON ISN’T THE ONLY ONE REMINDED OF IT.*

TOMMY: I hope Benrey regenerates!

GORDON: Yeah... sure, Tommy.

DARNOLD: I hope so too.

*DARNOLD LOOKS LONGINGLY AT THE FULLY CHARGED, NON-POTION DAMAGED LAPTOP, WHICH IS LOCKED — SO CLOSE AND YET SO FAR.*

DARNOLD: I still need them to delete that Pyro Update.

*THEIR CONTEMPLATIVE QUIET IS BROKEN BY THE STATIC SOUND OF WAILING. _JOSHUA_.  IT SEEMS THAT WITHOUT BENREY’S INFLUENCE, COMMS HAVE STARTED WORKING AGAIN.*

GORDON: Shit, sorry, I gotta...

TOMMY: That’s okay, Mr Freeman!

DARNOLD: If there’s any loose wiring or failed potions, we can handle it.

TOMMY: We  _are_ all PhD, uh, owners!

*NERVES FRIED, GORDON TURNS HIS OPTIONS OVER IN HIS HEAD. YET WHAT MAKES UP HIS MIND — ASIDE FROM THE SOUND OF HIS SON CRYING, SOMETHING THAT PIERCES HIS HEART EVEN NOW — IS THE SHY LOOK TOMMY GIVES DARNOLD, AND THE LITTLE SMILE DARNOLD SHOWS TOMMY.*

GORDON: Thank you guys, you don’t know how much I appreciate it. I’ll— I’ll walk Sunkist all month!

*GORDON CUTS HIMSELF OFF BY LITERALLY RUNNING AWAY — HE DOESN’T NEED TO, HIS SON’LL BE OKAY, BUT THAT’S JUST WHAT HE DOES. IT’S SO SOLIDLY IN GORDON’S NATURE TO RUN THAT HE FAILS TO NOTICE THE NOT-QUITE-CORPOREAL, NOT-QUITE-GHOSTLY FORM THAT FOLLOWS HIM, JUST OUTSIDE THE WINDOW.*

**Author's Note:**

> sorry for liking _HLVRAI_ 😔
> 
> i’ve been quietly writing for this fandom for some time now !! :D and would you believe a Picrew inspired me to do _shelter_? the ‘among us sona maker!’ by snuffins, to be specific.  
> the form is downright odd, i’m not sure if any of the humour works (too shy to beta this time), i’ve said a conscious “fuck you” to standard punctuation... and such experimentation is just the way we like it down in kit-town~ >:3  
> i don’t want to jinx it, but i do have plans for this one — eagle-eyed readers will have noticed there’s a series a-brewin’...  
> if you like what i’ve offered you thus far — or you have some constructive crit — please do comment !! as well as helping me know what you think, comments really do give me the greatest joy to read. :)
> 
> thank you for reading, i hope i tagged this correctly, and lots of love,  
> kit. x


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